Certificate in Global Health

The Certificate in Global Health is awarded in recognition of a student’s interest and preparation for continued involvement and a potential career in global health. The certificate will highlight the student’s global health focus and ability to work across disciplines. The requirements for the certificate differ by discipline, but emphasize discipline-specific and interdisciplinary coursework and/or projects that reinforce skills and promote a broad understanding of global health issues. A certificate entails the completion of the course INTH 301/401: Fundamentals of Global Health, a minimum of 2-3 additional courses that relate directly to international or health issues, a project related to global health and successful completion of a major or discipline. Students may also substitute course work for a project with permission of faculty. 

Curricula Framework

The certificate is the centerpiece of the Framework for Global Health Curricula. This is a group of professors across the Case Western Reserve University campus whose objective is to promote education in global health issues. Nearly every department at CWRU offers multiple educational activities in global health.

Rather than attempt to own all of these activities, the group at CWRU (representing the departments of Anthropology, Bioethics, Biology, Biostatics/Epidemiology, Mathematics, Medicine, Nursing, and Engineering) elected to develop a structure within which each department could develop independently while taking advantage of what the others had to offer. The organizing structure for this became the certificate program rather than a separate degree. This approach enables students to graduate within a recognized discipline and to recognize a student’s focus, time and effort in training. Each student in the certificate program will be grounded in global health by a core course (INTH 301/401) that will allow them to understand concepts and vocabulary across disciplines and that will facilitate meaningful communication with others based in a different discipline. In addition to the certificate, the Framework for Global Health Curricula has identified and is annotating all global health-related courses at CWRU. It has supported the recent revival of Medical Spanish and new courses and electives in global health. 

Certificate Requirements

Anthropology

Undergraduate

  1. INTH 301: Fundamental Concepts in Global Health
  2. ANTH 215: Introduction to Medical Anthropology
  3. ANTH 359: Introduction to International Health
  4. One elective selected from the list of approved electives in the Anthropology Department

Contact: Janet McGrath – janet.mcgrath@case.edu, 216.368.2287

Graduate

  1. INTH 401: Fundamental Concepts in Global Health
  2. ANTH 459: Introduction to International Health
  3. ANTH 511: Seminar in Anthropology and Global Health
  4. One elective selected from list of approved electives in the Anthropology Department

Contact: Janet McGrath – janet.mcgrath@case.edu, 216.368.2287

Bioethics

  1. INTH 401: Fundamental Concepts in Global Health
  2. BETH 414: Introduction to International Health Research Ethics
  3. Complete one elective selected from list of approved electives in the Bioethics Department

Contact: Patricia Marshall – patricia.marshall@case.edu, 216.368.6196

Epidemiology/Biostatics

  1. INTH 401: Fundamental Concepts in Global Health
  2. EPBI 484:  Infectious Disease Epidemiology
  3. EPBI 494: Geographic Medicine and Epidemiology
  4. An epidemiology research project with a global perspective (may be substituted with other course work).

Contact: Daniel Tisch – daniel.tisch@case.edu, 216.368.0875

Math/Applied Math specialization:

  1. Complete INTH 301/401: Fundamental Concepts in Global Health
  2. Complete a basic course in Epidemiology or Biostatics (EPBI 490, EPBI 491, EPBI 431/ ANAT 431/ BIOL 431)
  3. Complete a course in mathematical modeling with a focus on bio-medical applications (MATH 349/449, MATH 385 or EECS 397/EECS 600)
  4. Complete a health-related modeling project with a global perspective (may be substituted with other course work).

Contact: David Gurarie – david.gurarie@case.edu, 216.368.2857

Medicine

  1. INTH 401: Fundamental Concepts in Global Health
  2. INTH 4002: Major Tropical Pathogens
  3. INTH 5001: Orientation to International Health
  4. Complete a global health related project (may be student’s thesis or may be substituted with other course work)

Contact: Peter Zimmerman– peter.zimmerman@case.edu, 216.368.0508

Nursing

Undergraduate

  1. INTH 301: Fundamental Concepts in Global Health
  2. NURS 372: Health in the global community
  3. NURS 394: Global Health Seminar
  4. Complete a global health related project (may be substituted with other course work)

Contact: Mary Quinn Griffin – mtq2@case.edu, 216.368.1920

Graduate

  1. INTH 401:  Fundamental Concepts in Global Health
  2. EPBI 484 or EPBI 494: (choose one of these or other approved epidemiology courses)
  3. NURS 394: Global Health Seminar
  4. Complete a global health related project (may be substituted with other course work)

Contact: Mary Quinn Griffin – mtq2@case.edu, 216.368.1920

Biology

  1. Complete INTH 301/401: Fundamental Concepts in Global Health
  2. Approved electives

Contact: Ruth Milne – rxm34@case.edu , 216.368.4301

Engineering

  1. Complete INTH 301/401: Fundamental Concepts in Global Health
  2. Approved electives

Contact: Kurt Rhoads – krr38@case.edu, 216.368.2952

Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences

  1. INTH 401: Fundamental Concepts in Global Health
  2. SASS 548: International Social Work
  3. Additional MSASS elective from an approved list

 Contact: David Miller – msassreg@case.edu, 216.368.2335

Schools or Departments Offering a Certificate in Global Health

Anthropology

Janet McGrath
Phone: 216.368.2287
Email: janet.mcgrath@case.edu

Bioethics

Patricia Marshall
Phone: 216.368.6196

Biology

Ruth Milne
Phone: 216.368.4301
Email: rxm34@case.edu

Population and Quantitative Health Sciences

Daniel Tisch
Phone: 216.368.0875
Email: daniel.tisch@case.edu

Engineering

Kurt Rhoads
Phone: 216.368.2952
Email: krr38@case.edu

Mathematics

David Gurarie
Phone: 216.368.2857
Email: david.gurarie@case.edu

Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences

David Miller
Phone: 216-368-8755
Email: msassreg@case.edu

Medicine

Peter Zimmerman
Phone: 216.368.0508
Email: peter.zimmerman@case.edu

Nursing

Mary Quinn Griffin
Phone: 216.368.1920
Email: mtq2@case.edu